Chapter 28: Friday

"Glad you're home again, Iris," Anne said. "I'm afraid we've really got you on the run."

"Oh, well, somebody's got to do it, and I do enjoy it. But I really want to spend some time with Heather and get into the design side more. I think the next week or so will settle down some. I'm really still reacting to the first craze."

"I saw you on TV last week when I was in Chicago," Jim said. He and Denise had come for the meeting.

"Oh, that morning show. What a bunch of macho pigs those guys were. They don't come over that way on camera, but as soon as the tell-tale goes off..."

"It's doing a great job for the sales side, Iris. We're moving a lot of merchandise," Jim said.

"Just what are we moving, Jim?" Anne asked.

"Okay. Overall, the VeeCees are moving well. Evening wear seems to have a steady, increasing volume, some peaks, especially around Halloween. I think it will peak again during all the party seasons. The larger sellers are sportswear and better blouses. They seem to have really caught on. I don't know where people are wearing them, but they sure are selling."

"Jim," Iris noted, "I've had a lot of women sidle up and ask me, 'Can you really get away wearing a virtual blouse to work?' So I give them a flash, and they're sold."

"Terrific. At Victoria's Secret, they're very pleased with the racks we suggested. The pictures of you women wearing virtual blouses really seem to attract the shoppers, both men and women. It was an inspiration to have Margaret in there, too... We should look at offering the racks to the boutique trade, too. Boutiques don't seem to know how to display our merchandise very well. They're too hanger-oriented. And, some more pictures of you wearing evening gowns."

"What about VeeJays, Jim?"

"VeeJays are kind of a problem, Anne. We need to merchandise them better. Maybe a rack that hooks onto the blouse rack. They're much slower to move. I think we need to do a lot more promotion in that area. Show women how they can use VeeJays effectively. Iris, what do you think?"

"Well, yes. I admit I don't do much with them, right now. Let me think about it. I've always thought of VeeJays as something to wear when you're not wearing anything else. We need to either change that perception or play on it harder."

"Heather," Anne said, "the stuff you did in Atlanta was beautiful, don't you think so, Will?"

Will said, "Yes it was and it is. You got the whole range, Nudes, Erotics and Explicits. You must have had quite a time."

"Well, Will, it was sort of like when you're on a sketching jag. Sitting there bare-ass, sketching people screwing. Makes me horny as hell, that's one thing, but it's a real challenge, especially when the people are such wonderful colors. Only thing is, I didn't know most of the people and I ended up really just screwing Al and Margaret. Guess I'm getting choosy in my old age."

"Never mind. We got some wonderful stuff. I talked to Al last night, and he was wild about Alex's new catalog proofs. Wanted to know if we were going to do a special run for African-Americans."